"Just wanted to let you know that I'm going through the program again...I'm on week seven.
Church - photo by Joe Aquilina
I'm feeling so good...this time around I'm spending more time with each lesson. I'm doing all the homework. I even bought the program on the CD's this time. I originally had the videotapes. I'm in the car a lot...so I'm able to listen to the lessons over and over. When I went through the program in 2000, I think I only listened to them once.
Joe Aquilina |
...So, now at week seven I love your program even more. After the first 2-3 weeks, I felt on a high. That has leveled off because I'm more used to this "better" level of living. The depression is gone. The tapes are true...I have felt more creative, now that I'm spending less time being anxious. I find myself saying a lot of positive things to people. I know it's because of the positive self-talk. It's amazing how the skills change how you feel, and you're self-esteem.
I'm glad (the people on the tapes) talk about how there are still things (they) struggle with...assertiveness at work is something I have to work on. Last week I had to discuss some things with one of the doctors I work with, so I popped in Lesson 7 a bit early! It really helped. I sensed he really respected me more after our talk...
I'm off caffeine and chocolate. Working on sugar now. I know I can do it because I really want to recover completely. When I was at Lesson 5 I recalled that two of the times I ended up in the ER with panic attacks were both food related. One time I OD'd on caffeine the day before...the other time my refrigerator was broken, so I wasn't eating that great, and that combined with anxiety...
I realized I had two unrealistic expectations: one, that there shouldn't be any crises/problems at work; two, that I could prevent health problems from occurring to my Mom if I tried to control everything. Now that I acknowledged these, I'm trying to keep this in mind when feeling anxious about related situations.
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